


Sunnier Days

by Frostsabers (Lotorscastle)



Series: Recovery [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Costa del Sol, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Sephiroth Has A Son But He Wasn't Involved In That, Speech Disorders, mostly canon compliant - universe alteration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-07 18:16:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14676690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lotorscastle/pseuds/Frostsabers
Summary: Aerith is surprised to see the Professor again so soon after years of avoiding him and everything he stands for. She's even more surprised to see familiar, long silver hair- but it's not Sephiroth.





	Sunnier Days

**Author's Note:**

> Sub-summary: that time Zachary met Aerith before he was even called Zachary (not to be confused with Zack Fair, another Good Boy).
> 
> *I'm pretty sure anything with Hojo and even vague discussion of The Labs is implied abuse, at least through emotional neglect, (looking at Sephiroth suspiciously,) even if it's never outright said or acknowledged in-universe.
> 
> I may come back to do more edits, but for the time being, I like it :)

Costa del Sol's beach was really nothing like the one at Junon. It was warm, and sunny- there was no plate or city above her head, obscuring the golden light and casting them in perpetual shadow. The wind blew as a gentle breeze, tugging on her bangs and braid, carrying the smell of sea spray with none of the subtly foul stench of pollution Junon had.

At first, Aerith was delighted. 

Kalm was the first real taste of fresh air she'd had, breath without smog. Junon had been more akin to Midgar in that fashion, but less extreme.

There weren't even any monsters in sight, none roaring up from the water to attack any of the people lounging in the sunshine without a care, or splashing in the shallows. She didn't think, even if they were here to play, which they weren't, that she would go much further than that into the sea; after all, she had no idea how to swim...  _yet._

Aerith would ask Cloud to teach her when this was all over and they'd put an end to Sephiroth's schemes; she was sure he knew how, being a SOLDIER.

Purely because she liked to give him a hard time, and get her money's worth out of her bodyguard, of course. Tifa was planning on going for a swim. Logically, that meant she knew how to swim.

But for now, she was so looking forward to tanning.

Her exuberation lasted right about until she saw _that man._

Not the one they were looking for, no. Quite the opposite, really. Aerith had spent her whole life outside of his labs avoiding being taken back, and him.

Professor Hojo.

It felt like a bad omen to see him twice- well, more than that counting each time he left her line of sight, but she wasn't counting that, silly- in such a short span of time. Fifteen years and she'd only glimpsed him in science and Shinra Inc. magazines, but this year?

Abducted by the Turks, given back to Hojo's custody so he could run all the tests on her that pleased him, and then put in a chamber with... whatever Red XIII's species was, so just... Red XIII, with the intention of them _breeding._

And then escaping all of that, leaving Midgar, travelling to another continent.

Just to run into him again?

Planet no. Why?

"I don't understand what I'm looking at," Tifa confessed beside her. "Is he... sunbathing in a lab coat?"

Aerith slowly dragged her eyes away from the professor and the three young-looking women surrounding him. "Is that the only bit about this that confuses you?" she teased. "I thought that made the most sense; he's bit... hm, how to put it?"

"Cracked. He's a bit cracked." Tifa choked out. In her next breath, looking devastated, she gasped, "Why are there so many girls around him?"

She didn't respond, equally at a loss.

They continued staring for several moments. "They're hot, attractive women in bikinis... fawning over him." Tifa mumbled, sounding an awful lot like she was about to cry from the hysterics.

"I... I don't know eith- Tifa, look." Aerith pointed.

"I can't." she sobbed.  _Sobbed._ "I can't look anymore." Aerith pried her eyes away long enough to see her face flushed, trails of tears streaked down her face. She had a hand clasped over her mouth, and her shoulders shaked- laughing? 

 " _Tifa._ "

" _This beats the Don choosing Cloud._ Aerith, if I don't make it, I want that to be my epitaph."

"In  _what?_ " Aerith guffawed. Cloud had looked absolutely darling in his dress! He even still had it; she hoped that meant she'd see him in it again. Shaking her head, she reached for Tifa's arm and pointed again. "Would you just look before he leaves?"

Tifa, almost doubled over trying not to cry and laugh, sobered and jerked upwards. "He's leav-  _what is that?_ "

Now walking away from Hojo with several gil clutched in his hands, close to his chest, was a young child not much older than Marlene. Unlike Marlene, he had long silver hair cascading down past his waist, and bangs overcasting his eyes.

"D-does Sephiroth have a kid?"

"That's what I was trying to say!" Aerith rolled her eyes, only slightly exasperated. "He was at the labs too."

Tifa was quiet for a moment.

As they watched, the boy nervously approached a young gent at an icy treats stand, and pointed out what he wanted. After being handed a bright cherry red popsicle, he lifted a hand to his chin and then swiped it down in a purposeful motion, _thank you,_ and quietly retreated to a parasol not far from Hojo, where he dug his toes into the sand over the edge of his throw quilt.

Slowly, she said, "Maybe we should go find Cloud. He might know more. Or muscle his way over to Hojo for answers."

"And I'll go talk to the kid!" she grinned.

"That's not what I meant..." Tifa complained quietly. "One of us goes and finds Cloud, while the other stays here and watches them.

Aerith nodded. "Right! You go get Cloud, and I talk to the kid and watch Hojo." Tifa gave her a frown.

They stared off at one another for several seconds before Tifa sighed. "What if he runs and tells Hojo?"

"Oh, and what's he gonna do?" Sure, he could run away, but his options were limited. Run past the stairs, probably get caught by any member of AVALANCHE who saw him; Red XIII was playing ball with children up there, and Yuffie had somehow found herself a part time job at the materia shop. Cloud and Barret were up there too, somewhere, but Aerith wasn't sure what they were up to besides looking for any clues where Sephiroth had gone after attacking them on the ship.

Well... attacking the crew of the ship and leaving them that... _thing_ to fight. And flying away.

It was shaping up to be a _very_ strange year for her.

Or, he could run via the beach, but he would have to circle around to the town eventually for transportation; an old man and small child, both unarmed, wouldn't be safe out there by themselves and on foot.

"Besides, he's already seen us- look, he keeps glancing at us."

With only a faint huff, Tifa did as she was bid. And finally, seeing those bright- literally, they glowed like Cloud's- blue eyes wander towards them once, twice, she caved. "Alright. I go get Cloud, you talk to the kid and keep an eye on Hojo. If he does anything fishy _at all,_ you call for us."

"Yes, _mother._ "

"Don't sass me, young lady." There was a brief, playful glint in Tifa's eyes as she headed up the stairs to the plaza.

Aerith made her way to the boy, thinking.

He seemed nervous earlier, and still was judging from the way he glanced over, so she would keep that in mind- make sure to be more on the quiet side, patient, and exceptionally kind. But not _too_ kind, that always made the kids she knew suspicious and even flightier.

She was pretty good with kids, even though she didn't think she was motherly at all. Maybe... sisisterly.

Yeah, sisterly.

Tifa was motherly, Aerith didn't make the rules.

And if this kid had been raised in the labs until recently, which seemed likely, she already had some common ground.

Having shared experiences was a good way to get anyone to open up. Relating to them.

He eyed her warily as she approached, losing any pretense of subtlety. She kind of doubted he was actively trying to sly, at least in those terms; he definitely seemed, from what she'd seen, like the type to that didn't want to be noticed.

 _Silver hair makes that kinda hard, huh?_ she mused. _Bummer._

"Hello," she started, crouching down near his umbrella. "You're here with the professor, right?" 

He stared at her for almost a solid minute, letting the silence stretch uncomfortably. Aerith was about to elaborate something to the effect of having seen him in the labs before, when he slowly nodded.

She smiled, and shifted so that she was sitting "Ah, I thought so. What's your name? I'm Aerith."

He stared some more, blinking at her, and then turned his attention to a book sitting next to him. She got a good look at it, and thought, _oh dear._ He picked it up and rifled through the pages, making hand gestures whilst looking increasingly frustrated. Eventually, with a lot frown, huffing, and looking up to see her reaction, he strung together a coherent sentence.

_Professor calls me S-2._

"S-2?" she asked, bewildered. That wasn't even a proper name- she was sure Hojo had called Sephiroth by his name his whole life. "The professor calls you that, but... is that your _name?_ "

She regretted asking before the words even finished tumbling out her mouth.

S-2's gaze dropped down to his lap, where he fiddled with the corner of the pages. "I'm sorry," she said. "What I meant was, is that a nickname you like?"

He shrugged.

The action didn't convey confusion or indifference so much as a sense of helplessness. So...

"Do you like it here? It's so warm and sunny." she tried instead.

Slowly, he nodded, bangs bobbing with the movement. He reached up and pushed one half towards the side. Then, he flipped through his book some more, folding corners of the pages. The thing was going to be absolutely dig-eared by the time he was as fluent in sign as children his age were fluent in their spoken languages.

Then, he asked her his own question.

_How do you know Professor?_

"Oh, I grew up in the labs. For a while anyway."

Less flipping this time, as he gestured at himself, and then his eyes outwards, then pointed at her. After that, he flipped through the book again, and nodded to himself as he began to fingerspell.  _I saw you at the labs._

"I saw you there too! Test day?" He nodded, quickly this time. "Yeah, me too. It's been a while since I checked in." It was only slightly a lie. Somehow, she doubted it would sound good to say she and her mother ran away and then she got caught after a decade and a half later.

He was more engaged now. That was good.

"So... what _is_ the professor doing here?" she whispered, leaning just a bit closer. "With President Shinra dead, and I heard a bunch of scientists too, shouldn't he be in Midgar?"

S-2 shook his head. He fingerspelt one word: _retired._

"He retired? No way!" she said conspiratorially. Kids liked the drama.

He nodded.

Then, he signed something else. She watched, intigued and feeling validated as the words shaped up. It was a slow process, with him continuing to second guess himself and look down at a spreadsheet of the basic letters, and foregoing using gestures save for pointing at himself and once at Hojo.

_I saw my father in the labs, but I was told he's dead. [Hojo] didn't believe me._

Sympathetically, Aerith nodded. "It was Sephiroth, but we're not sure how; my bodyguard was there when he died and swears there's no way he survived. So now we're trying to find him, and figure out how he's alive."

S-2 scooted closer towards her, curiosity shining in his eyes.

Before they could continue talking, Tifa reappeared with Cloud, pushing and pointing him towards Hojo. S-2's attention was stolen from her, instead regarding Cloud even more warily than he had Aerith, spark of interest dimmed.

"Oh, don't worry, S-2." The... 'nickname' felt awful on her lips. "That's just my bodyguard. He's helping me look for your dad too." 

He glanced at her dubiously, then continued watching Cloud as he maneuvered through the group of girls to talk to Hojo. From here, she could clearly hear their conversation.

"God! What do you want?" one of the girls exclaimed.

"Is that Hojo?" Cloud asked bluntly.

"Yes, that's right. It's the Professor!" She sounded a bit too happy about that, Aerith felt. "Professor, someone's here to see you." the girl said.

Hojo didn't even look. He spoke dismissively, "I'm busy right now."

Aerith felt a light tug on the skirt of her dress. Without looking at his book, S-2 signed,  _There's something strange about him..._ and pointed at Cloud, who'd continued speaking.

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. You sure are loud. Long time no see, Cloud."

Tifa must have gone to get the others as well; Aerith didn't even notice their approach, but all of a sudden, they joined Cloud, crowding around Hojo. She couldn't quite see him anymore, but she had the feeling he was unfazed by the display of numbers.

"Hojo..." Aerith could only describe his reaction as uncertain, but it made sense to her. SOLDIER supposedly underwent a surgery to become the way they were, so strong and durable and faster than usual, a real cut above; Hojo had been the director of Shinra's science division at least since Aerith was a little girl. He was probably the one who enhanced Cloud.

She looked back at S-2, whose attention was alternating between her and the party, and grinned mischievously. "Hm... you're right. There's definitely something odd about him. That's why I want to get to know him better."

At first, he tilted his head thoughtfully. Slowly, he nodded.

Aerith got the feeling he didn't entirely understand the sentiment, but that was okay. She didn't think she could properly explain her motives.

She stood, intending to give him a brief farewell and go join the others-

S-2's expression, which had been neutral for most of their conversation, fell in utter disappointment as she stood. He quickly turned his face downwards, closing his book and setting it aside.

It took her by complete surprise; she hesitated, staring at him with a feeling she couldn't quite pin down.

"... what are you doing?"

Something about the sight kept her there.  
  
"It should be obvious," Hojo's voice explained, in a tone that was aptly patronising without raising in volume even once, "I'm getting a tan."

"Hey... I have to go now, but maybe we'll talk some more soon?" she told him.

He looked up at her- and it was just that. Looking at her, with no distinguishable emotion in his eyes.

* * *

Sunsets and sunrises, Aerith had learned for herself, were very pretty, especially without the dense 'fog' of Midgar or the plate in the way.

Rumor had it, those at beaches were even more so.

Stories painted idyllic pictures of the waves reflecting red and orange skies as the light waned and dipped below the horizon, a myriad of wondrous colors. The reality was similar, out at sea.

The sunrise brought with it gentle pinks and ever characteristic yellow, chasing away the blackness of night. It was very serene, in its own way, and the sight filled her with a sense of calm. Almost...reassuring- like anything could happen, for better or worse, but it would be okay. The sun would still rise and set no matter what came of their quest.

It would be okay, she just knew it.

Few were awake at this hour, but of her companions, only Yuffie was still asleep.

Last she had seen, Cloud was methodically sorting through their supplies on the floor of the room he shared with Barret, who grumpily sat on the foot of his bed doing nothing at all. Tifa slipped outside around the same time as Aerith, and started her warm up exercises and going through her stances. Red XIII stood seemingly stoic at the top of the stairs leading down to the beach, where Aerith was sitting on a small, thin blanket in the sand.

However, she knew from teasing him on her way down that he was really just enjoying the cool breeze through his thick fur.

When she heard footsteps in the sand, however quiet, she assumed it was one of the others coming to get her so they could be on their way. Maybe Yuffie, she'd reasoned; the girl was a trained Wutaian ninja, specialising in moving quickly and silently... when she wasn't talking.

It was to her surprise then when she turned and saw not Yuffie, or even Red XIII or Tifa, but the boy, S-2.

This morning, his hair was not loose as it had been before, rather it was messily braided down his back, reaching his waist still. He wore different shorts and a different shirt, one that looked like he could honestly dive right into the water just fine. The detail stuck out to her, sparking- no for the first time- a yearning for her other dresses and a couple pairs of pants and shorts she had.

Aerith would have liked to have had more to change into and wear while the others were dirty.

Oh well. _I'll just have to bully Cloud into buying me more,_ she thought.

She noticed as well, he had no books with him this time.

He blinked at her, once, and then peered around the rest of the beach. There weren't others there; a couple down the way, searching for seashells, and another kid with their mother, both playing in the sand.

No Professor Hojo or his admirers.

"Hello," she greeted him after a moment, smiling. She patted the blanket beside her, shifting to make more room. "You can sit, if you want."

For a few seconds, he hesitated.

Then he sat down next to her, resting his jaw on his knees and closing his eyes.

He looked, if not quite peaceful, then quite comfortable.

She studied him more, feeling a pang of envy over his long, completely natural eye-lashes and how pretty they were, and humming thoughtfully to herself while inspecting his braid. It was twisted around completely, like the braider had accidentally forgotten a step, and the area of the back of his head was a bit tangled.

"Did you braid it yourself?" Aerith asked nonchalantly, reaching out to look at it better. The strands of hair, even stiffly gathered, were soft and smooth.

S-2 stiffened at the touch, eyes opening narrowly at her, but he nodded.

"Hm..." she said, mostly for effect. "Your hair is really thick; it must have been pretty hard. Could I give it a try?"

The look he gave her could only have been described as equal parts confused, wary, and uncertain.

Eventually, he nodded.

She had to finger brush his hair carefully, each tug earning her an offended glance from S-2 but it didn't take long to get his hair ready. It was naturally straight, thankfully. If it were curly or wavy, it would have been challenging.

Which, the braiding process was not.

Aerith had a lot of hair herself, and she diligently braided her every morning. It took her only a couple of minutes. By the time she was done, Red XIII had run past and taken a leap into the ocean, splashing into the shallows.

He paddled in circles indulgently before climbing out. Red XIII shook out his coat vigorously, far away from her and anyone else on the beach.

Huh. Well, that was one way to stay cool.

It wasn't that hot out yet, but it would be, and who knew how the temperature would be on their way past the Coral reactor?

S-2's lips curved upwards. Aerith swore she saw his shoulders shake slightly and heard him stifle a giggle at the display. Red XIII gave an extra wiggle, all the way down to his tail tip.

... his... aflame... tail tip...

"Aerith?" a slow, tentative voice drew her out of her confusion before she could get far into that conundrum.

She looked towards the source of the voice, so quiet she had barely heard them, a bit surprised. _S-2?_ His head was turned towards her, but his gaze averted.

"... thank you."

"You're welcome..." Aerith trailed, brows knitting. She opened her mouth to ask,  _"You can talk?"_ but thought better of it.

Behind them, noise picked up. She heard the distinct sound of Yuffie's voice, shrill and shattering the peace and quietude of the morning. Aerith didn't begrudge her for it, for a few reasons. It was just Yuffie's habit to be loud.

Perhaps an intentional one, to make people underestimate how deadly and silent she could be.

She twisted around to look, and, indeed, Yuffie was energetically waving her arms around. Cloud leaned away from her, hand on her face.

"I think... I have to go now." she said instead.

"Oh..."  _Will I see you again?_

"Yeah," she smiled, "of course."

He returned it in a small gesture, and simply watched her climb to her feet. A feeling of disquiet settled on her as she joined the others.

Aerith looked back once.

S-2 stood with Hojo, face obscured by his bangs. She didn't know what they were talking about, but...

The mental image stuck in her head.

* * *

_"Did you know?"_ _Cloud blinked at her, confused. "That Sephiroth has a son?"_

_"Ah. So that's how it is..." he trailed, then shook his head, looking perplexed. "No. I had no idea until just now."_

_..._

_A hand reached out, catching Cloud by his wrist. He froze at the quiet voice._

_"Where's Aerith?"_

_Cloud blinked at the child- Sephiroth's very own son, staring up at him with desparate blue eyes. "... she's gone."_

_" gone...?"_

_For a minute, he said nothing. He felt a fresh wave of guilt after...S-2? After the boy looked down, expression closing off. All he could say was..._

_"I'm sorry."_

**Author's Note:**

> Aerith :(


End file.
